Ordinary Art Factor [EN]: Chapter 172

Alright, let’s wrap this up quickly and get out of here.

What glory would someone like me even get out of this… It’s true that more money doesn’t really mean much to me anymore… Ahem.

“Summon all Jullots!”

[Ding! Summoning 2,200 Jullots (Defense + Attack 200%).]

Over two thousand Jullots filled the area, bathed in white light.

These are the Jullots that absorbed mineral fragments and were newly produced as soon as things calmed down after exiting the cave. It’s a shame I could only produce Jullots due to the lack of gas, but it doesn’t matter since I’m not going to be wrestling with humanoid dungeon units right now.

All that matters is improving work efficiency.

“Eliminate everything in front of you: piles of stones, debris, trash, rocks, etc. Whether you slash it, smash it into dust, or lift it and move it by hand, I don’t care. Just get rid of it! Go!”

As soon as I finished speaking, the Jullots rushed in from all directions.

The Jullots completely filled the area, so much so that the piles of stones were no longer visible.

Some smashed rocks with their greatswords, some moved rocks the size of their bodies to the side, and some swung their swords around without regard for their own kind.

Yeah. It should have been like this from the start… Bullshit!

If I dig this up haphazardly, will the clear reward even be intact?

What if some really good, top-notch, unique, legendary potion or item is wrapped in thin foil or ceramic, or just lying there unprotected… Just… Ahem. Never mind. Let’s not think about it. It makes my stomach churn.

New Mt. Mudeung Dungeon Clear Entry: 22 days, 8 hours, 40 minutes.

“Isn’t it easy if we do this from the start? Why did you make things so difficult only for the warriors from the beginning?”

“……”

“How great would it have been if you had the Jullots carefully remove only the upper part at the beginning, gently lift it and move it over there, and watch carefully so it doesn’t collapse underneath? Then we could have stepped in and….”

*Thwack!*

“Aagh! Why, why! I’m just saying what’s true!”

*Thwaack!*

“Aaaagh! I mean, why! What did I do wrong….”

“If you open that mouth one more time, I’ll smash the back of your head.”

“Ahem. Can’t even talk!”

“……”

This bastard, really! Is he trying to provoke me?

Are your eyes just pinholes?

Can’t you see the dust flying over there?

And the piles of stones collapsing in the middle, doesn’t that register in those tiny eyes of yours?

How can what I see and what you see be so different?

Is this guy turning into Psy? At least Psy is sane when he doesn’t open his mouth… Huh? What is that guy doing over there?

As I was observing the Jullots working diligently, I saw Psy squatting in a corner where piles of stones were stacked, or rather, where the dungeon floor was now somewhat visible, diligently sweeping the floor.

Why? Is he observing the butthole of a passing ant or something?

Ha… After all, the only normal people around me are Mi-hye, Kim Eun-hee, and Choi Eun-ji….

“Joooooo… Gooooooon!”

“……”

“What are you doing? Psy is calling you, hyung-nim [older brother/term of endearment for a male friend]? Hehehe.”

Gil-soo, who is gradually losing it next to me, bursts into a strange laugh.

Hmm, should I hit him?

If I plant an even stronger blow on the back of his head than before, will that annoying mouth shut up?

“Jooooooo~ Gooooooon!”

“Ah! Shi-bal-sae-ggi [Korean profanity, roughly equivalent to ‘son of a bitch’]! What~!”

As if he heard my reply, Psy starts acting strangely.

He gets up from his squatting position and jumps up and down, pointing at the dungeon floor while making incomprehensible gestures and uttering unintelligible words.

“Ju-gun! It’s a magic circle! It has movement patterns and storage patterns, and it seems to have recognition patterns as well. This is a treasure vault!”

“… What is that bastard saying? Can you understand what he’s saying?”

“… I don’t know. Only Ju-gun, hyung-nim, would know.”

“Tsk!”

“Ahem.”

As expected, there are no normal people around me. No normal….

Shortly after.

I took the team leader-level mages to where Psy was, and temporarily deactivated the Jullots.

I had to make sure that I wouldn’t get hit by a small fragment that flew off while the Jullots were digging through the piles of stones. Ahem.

First of all, Psy, if you made this fuss over nothing, you’re going to pay for it.

If you made the 2,000 Jullots waste their precious time digging and destroying, I’ll make you go crazy with the crazy Gil-soo. Ssi-bam-ba sae-ggi [another Korean profanity, similar to the first].

“Why? What is it?”

“Ju-gun! Look at this. I’ve been discovering this since yesterday, but there’s a huge magic circle drawn on the floor where this stone pillar used to be. This part, this section, is a part of setting the coordinate values in the movement pattern, and this overlapping part seems to be the value specifying the space in the storage pattern. And if you go behind this, it looks like a recognition pattern circuit….”

“Really?”

“A magic circle on the dungeon floor? If it’s this big….”

“Movement and storage patterns! Then… Oh my god!”

Ji-hye, who was the most surprised, ran out first, and Han-deuk, Mi-hye, Kim Eun-hee, and Choi Eun-ji also hurried over, lay flat on their stomachs, and stared only at the dungeon floor.

Yeah. Good for you mages.

But still, even if you’re going to be like this among yourselves… Psy, why are you calling me and making a fuss!

You could have just called the team leader-level mages and whispered, murmured, and made a fuss among yourselves!

Hue, never mind. It’s my fault for not understanding what you’re saying.

Ah, maybe… I asked Gil-soo, who was still next to me.

“Do you understand what they’re saying?”

“Same here.”

What?

“… Yeah. You’re a warrior, right?”

“You’re a warrior too, hyung-nim. I mean, Psy is an Art Factor and he’s so knowledgeable about magic circles, but why aren’t you, even though you’re also an Art Factor….”

“If you run your mouth any more, you’ll get hurt.”

“… Then, I’ll shut up. Whatever.”

Hmm, should I really hit him?

If I land a refreshing blow, it feels like the food I ate yesterday will be digested well.

By the way, why are those guys like that?

The mages, who were sitting around looking at one spot for a while, are running around like crazy, sweeping the dungeon floor.

“Clean up from here, from here.”

“No, from here! This pattern is the activation part!”

“What are you going to do by activating the storage space! We need to figure out the movement pattern first!”

“No, no. We need to recognize it first to prepare for any emergencies. What if we can’t return after moving first? We need to clean up from this side!”

The team leader-level mages gathered all the guild members and are making a fuss among themselves.

Clean up this side, clean up that side.

Since the large piles of stones were roughly broken or cleared away by the Jullots I summoned, it seems like the warriors could solve the rest within a few days if they worked their asses off, but the problem is the mages.

Some say to clean up this side first, some say that side, and some say the middle, so the warriors caught in the middle are just flustered.

With the already insufficient warrior manpower, and the mages clamoring to give orders first.

The dungeon floor, where dirt and piles of stones were stacked, and which is still more than half covered, is gradually becoming cleaner….

“Oppa [term of endearment for older brother used by females]! Lend me some Jullots! No, clean up from that side over there!”

“Hyung-nim, this way. From this way!”

“Guild leader-nim, we need to clean up from the middle first!”

“This place is the most important! It’s from this side!”

Starting with Ji-hye’s lead, orders from the team leader-level mages pour in.

If you’re so busy, why don’t you do it yourselves?

Why are you trying to boss me around when I’m just standing here?

No one explains it properly, no one pays attention to me, and even Psy, who called me, is busy running around and yelling at the mages.

Ha… I didn’t rack my brain over the dungeon clear reward to see this!

I didn’t crawl back from that collapsed cave to see this!

Where did the dungeon clear reward minerals and gas go, and what are my precious, adorable Probes doing!

Even though worldly affairs are like a blessing in disguise, a fleeting dream, isn’t this too much!

It’s so futile… Ahem.

New Mt. Mudeung Dungeon Clear Entry: 23 days, 15 hours, 20 minutes later.

For now, I summoned the 2,000 Jullots again at the team leader-level mages’ active, coercive, and threatening request and continued to clear the piles of stones.

Of course, I would have cleared them even if they hadn’t asked, but why do I feel so shitty?

Is it because the feeling of doing something on my own and being ordered to do something by someone else is different?

Why do I hate doing something so much when someone tells me to do it?

You’ve had this experience before, right? When you don’t want to study and play all you want, and then you sit at your desk to study, your parents nag you to stop playing and study, and when you hear that, you feel like you don’t want to study again. Don’t you sometimes feel like that strange situation is repeating itself?

That’s exactly how I feel right now.

Somehow, it feels so uncomfortable, uneasy, unpleasant, and annoying….

Ha… Never mind.

I’ve cleared the piles of stones to some extent, so now you guys do it yourselves. I give up.

Shortly after.

“We need to activate the movement pattern first!”

“That’s not right. We need to recognize it first. If you look here, it’s clearly blocking someone from entering without permission. What if we just go in without thinking!”

“We need to activate the storage pattern first to see what’s inside! We need to do it from here!”

“Why can’t you understand what I’m saying! We need to activate it in order, step by step, after moving….”

“Why move first! If we move and it’s not recognized….”

“Storage, storage pattern!”

Well done~.

Over here, Mi-hye, Kim Eun-hee, and Choi Eun-ji are pointing fingers at each other and raising their voices, and over there, Han-deuk and Ji-hye are grabbing each other’s hair and rolling around on the dungeon floor. Psy is wringing his hands next to them, not knowing what to do.

Well done. You’re doing a great job.

This is a complete mess?

It’s such a mess that I’m really curious about how the next episode will unfold.

Tsk. I should have popcorn and cola for times like this. It’s a tragedy that I couldn’t bring them into the dungeon because of the lack of inventory space.

Hmm, by the way, where did my adorable Probes disappear to?

If the stats of the summon targets aren’t fully charged, it means they’re somewhere, but I can’t see them no matter how hard I look.

Maybe, perhaps….

New Mt. Mudeung Dungeon Clear Entry: 24 days, 9 hours, 40 minutes later.

“Haaaah!”

That’s Mi-hye’s fighting sound.

“Eura-cha-cha!”

That’s Han-deuk’s straining sound.

“Kkyaaaa!”

That’s Kim Eun-hee’s sharp scream.

“Eaaaah!”

That’s Choi Eun-ji’s shout.

“Aaaagh! Why! Why isn’t it working!”

And that’s Ji-hye hysterically screaming like crazy.

“Joooooo… Gooooooon!”

Lastly, that’s the barking of a crazy bastard calling me desperately.

What the hell are you guys doing?

Instead of straining yourselves like that, just think comfortably like me again… Ah, no.

Just keep doing what you’re doing. I don’t want to get annoyed.

I’ll just watch the show and get some rice cakes. Ahem.

Shortly after.

“Oppa, help me.”

“Guild leader-nim. Please help us.”

“Hyung-nim. You’re the only one who can do it.”

“Ju-gun! As expected, only Ju-gun is the one and only existence who can solve this situation. I deeply regret not asking Ju-gun from the beginning….”

“… Psy.”

“Yes. Ju-gun!”

“Please shut up.”

“… Yes.”

At my words, Psy awkwardly shuts his mouth and steps back.

Next to him, Ji-hye, Han-deuk, Mi-hye, Kim Eun-hee, and Choi Eun-ji are glaring at me as if they’re going to eat me alive.

What? So what?

Am I your babysitter?

Why are you always looking for me and making a fuss?

Can’t you please do it yourselves?

I’m just here to watch the show and get some rice cakes!

How can a humble, insignificant, and pathetic Art Factor solve a math problem that you mages and healers can’t solve? Moreover, if you come to me, who knows nothing about magic circuits or magic circles, and make such a fuss, it’s even less likely that I can solve the problem with a 짜잔~! [Jjajan – Korean onomatopoeia for ‘ta-da!’]

But what can I do?

It’s my fault for being so damn good.

“Ha… Okay. Let’s hear it first. Someone explain.”

As I sighed once and opened my mouth, Psy came forward again as if he had been waiting and explained the situation.

“Yes. Ju-gun. So, as I said at the beginning, that magic circle is a combination of movement, storage, and recognition patterns….”

“Just the conclusion, simply!”

This bastard is trying to sell me something again!

Please just shut your mouth.

“Yes! We have reached an agreement on the activation order of the magic circle. Now we need to activate the magic circle with magic power, but we don’t know if it’s because we don’t have enough magic power or what, but it’s not activating. Moreover, the magic power pattern is a bit different. So, we thought that maybe it would be possible if Ju-gun, who has the most magic power among us, so….”

Is that simple?

It’s so long.

So, to put it simply, you’re saying that I have more magic power than you, so please lend me some strength, something like that?

Geez. Why are you beating around the bush like this when you can just say, ‘Please help us’?

“Let’s go for now.”

“Th, thank you. Ju-gun!”

“Thank you, oppa.”

“As expected, you’re the only one, hyung-nim.”

Han-deuk, it seems like your way of speaking is fixed in one way?

Are you an extra? Weren’t you a supporting actor?

Guided by Psy, I moved to the huge magic circle drawn in the center of the room.

“Do I do it here?”

“That’s right. Ju-gun. Just release your maximum magic power into this part with the feeling of concentrating it as much as possible.”

“Okay. Step aside.”

“Yes. Ju-gun.”

As Psy and the team leader-level mages stepped back a few steps, I concentrated my magic power on the geometric figure that Psy pointed to.

…….

“Hmm… Is this right? There’s no reaction… Oh, wait?”

The geometric figure, which had no reaction at first, briefly showed a blue light and then disappeared.

“Ooh~.”

“A, amazing! Ju-gun!”

“Did you see that? Did you see it just now! Oppa! What did you do just now? You didn’t just let the magic power flow, did you? Right? We didn’t have any reaction when we did it!”

“Quiet! Be quiet. Hyung-nim. Please do it one more time. To the maximum!”

While the guys around me were making a fuss, I felt something a little different.

I definitely concentrated the summon target stats, which can be called magic power for the Art Factor, but there was something foreign included.

What is it?

What’s different?

Hmm… Let’s try again. Slowly, while checking my condition.

As I showed that I was concentrating again, the guys around me became quiet.

While checking my condition, I had the feeling of injecting the magic power, which is the summon stat, into the geometric figure… Huh? Why is it decreasing?

“……”

“Hy, hyung-nim. What’s wrong?”

“Oppa?”

“Ju-gun!”

Strange.

I’m clearly trying to activate the summon target stats and release them to the outside, but the dark stats keep wriggling.

I didn’t think much of it before, so I didn’t check, but now I clearly felt it. Moreover, the dark stats, which were 210, have now decreased to 205.

The dark stats that I newly acquired after entering this primordial dungeon.

I never thought that the dark stats, which I activated out of curiosity and playfulness, would be related to this magic circle!

If so!

“Hmm… Eun-hee.”

“Yes. Guild leader-nim.”

“You had the Dark Purification item last time, right? Take it all out.”

“Yes? Yes.”

“… Why? Why are you doing that?”

“Hyung-nim. Why suddenly that strange item… Ah! Pe, perhaps!”

“What is it? What is the relationship between the Dark Purification item and this magic circle?”

The guys around me keep asking questions, but I didn’t answer anything. Since it’s not certain yet anyway, I have nothing to say.

Kim Eun-hee takes out about 20 Dark Purification items that she had in her inventory and puts them on the floor.

Hmm… So, last time, when I absorbed one of these, the dark stat increased by 100. Then, for now….

I brought my hand to the Dark Purification item that Kim Eun-hee had taken out and activated my magic power.

“O, oppa!”

“Hyung-nim! You can’t absorb that carelessly!”

“Guild leader-nim!”

“Juu-gun!”

In a flash, one of the Dark Purification items disappeared.

“Oppa! How can you absorb that! Dark Purification! Don’t you know what that means?”

“Hyung-nim, are you okay? Why suddenly that….”

“Ju-gun. That’s the magic power used for dark magic… Ah! Is it perhaps the magic power related to this magic circle?”

“Huh? Psy-ssi [Korean honorific, similar to Mr./Ms.]. What do you mean? Dark Purification is related to this magic circle? The Dark Purification item is left behind when humanoid dungeon units are 산화 [San-hwa – Korean term for ‘cremation’ or ‘reduction to ashes’]… Huh? Th, then….”

The guys next to me are making me so nervous.

Am I an idiot?

Do I look like a pushover?

My body is so precious to me!

I have a rabbit-like son and a fox-like wife [Korean idiom referring to a cute child and a clever wife], would I do something like this without a plan! Of course, I’m doing this with confidence because I tested it last time.

I didn’t care what the guys next to me were saying, and I started to absorb the remaining Dark Purification items one by one.

Hmm, my body is so stiff?

When I absorbed all 20 or so Dark Purification items that Kim Eun-hee had taken out, my skin turned black, and the guys stared at me from afar with expressions as if they had seen a ghost.

“O, oppa! Are you really okay?”

“Ju-gun! Please tell me if you feel anything strange. I, I’ll step up….”

“Hyung-nim! Are you okay? Are you dizzy or bloated? Han-deuk, can you give him some heal?”

“You idiot! It’s darkness! What happens if you give light to darkness!”

“I don’t know, you idiot! If there’s darkness, there’s light, right? It’ll just mix!”

“You son of a bitch. You’re talking nonsense even though it’s not your business. Hyung-nim, that guy’s head is just a rock. He’s a warrior, so he doesn’t think… Ah, hyung-nim is also a warrior. I’m sorry. Ahem.”

Ssi-bam-ba sae-ggis [Korean profanity]!

You’re really talking nonsense because it’s not your business.

By the way, how much did the dark stats increase?

I quietly checked my condition.

Hmm… 2,205….

Is that a lot? Is it little?

Well, even if I distributed the stats I received at level 110 evenly to my physical characteristics, the average is now in the 130-140 range, so it must be a lot. Is that why my body is so stiff?